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Over or Under? The Great Toilet Paper Debate

How do you orient your toilet paper? Over, under, don’t care at all? It’s a question that 50% of the population thinks about, yet seemingly never talks about. At first thought, this subject might be brushed off as trivial, however it could have psychological implications that are anything but.

It wasn’t until 1879 when toilet paper rolls began being mass produced. Before this blessed day people used, well, one can only imagine. However, this feat of human genius raised one of the most important questions of our time: why do some people orient toilet paper rolls “over”, others “under” and a third, enigmatic group who seem to not care either way?

Well, some studies suggest that the answer is more than coincidence. For instance, people who orient their rolls “over” are more organized and characterized as over-achievers. Think your older sibling who works harder and is more successful than you. This group represents 70 percent of the people who actually care that much about toilet paper.

The remaining 30 percent of this peculiar study group are the “unders”. Characterized as “laid-back”, “artistic”, and “dependable”. This could mean many things. If you were at a potluck, it might trigger your internal hippie-alarm system, or it could just mean that you’re hanging out with friendly people who can keep a secret.

At any rate, next time you are at a friends house, pot-luck, party, pay attention to the toilet paper roll, it might divulge the secrets of someones personality. Then again, it might not mean shit. [Via]